A farming lad or lass, she grows up in the countryside surrounded by nature, the job is hers for life if she wants it and is willing to work hard, the house to live in is free. Her parents will build a bungalow on the land somewhere, no planning permission required just building regs, and she will inherit that property also in time. What she has is what everyone dreams of, a start in life and a guaranteed future. Not for this one the need to gain education and compete in the rat race. Hers will be a life of arguing about subsidies and claiming for cat food on expenses because Mr Tiddles is a piece of equipment on the farm rather than a pet, at least when it comes to the tax returns.

In 2024 the farmers came out on mass to protest that some of them, the greatest land owners, may have to pay some tax on the value of the property they may inherit from their parents. Somehow, and I cannot understand this at all, other than in terms of successful propaganda. 90% of the people who are unaffected by this change came to the streets to protest on behalf of the likes of Clarkson and the large tweed wearing wealthy land owners. Like I said, many are unaffected because their holding does not qualify, so why would they protest in the interests of people (those who buy land for the sake of wealth maintenance) who are as much a problem to them as they are to us all.

For those that do qualify, what of it, why should you get away with not paying a tax that everyone else does? Is it because what you do is somehow important? I work for a living also, and I pay every penny in tax the government says I should. Add into this consideration that I am also in no way subsidised for what I do, nor am I paid to grow hedges or trees back that I myself cut down for profit when I realised I could get more for restoring them than for maintaining them. Nor am I allowed to use fuels that have much lower tax tariffs on them, or claim government subsidies for my clothing or vehicles. I think their winging may be a little unfounded, and I hope I’m not alone in that. If a nurse inherited her parent’s property she would pay inheritance tax on it, when I was given a portion of my grandfather’s land sales I paid inheritance tax on it. What is it that makes a farmer specially exempt from this?

My other question is why is this news and protest? They can make their arguments to their MPs without involving us citizens surely, it is a matter of a small number of people in among a small set of demographic that is affected here, it’s not the pole tax. Are there not more important things to be concerned with than the plight of large land owners?

Paul S Wilson